Burial, Baha'i

I.

Extracts From
The Writings Of Bahá'u'lláh

1. It
is forbidden you to carry the body more than an hour's distance from the
town; bury it with tranquillity and cheer in a nearby place.
(Bahá'u'lláh,
from a Tablet - translated from the Arabic)2. QUESTION:
Is the ordinance that the body of the deceased should be carried no greater
distance than one hour's journey applicable to transport by both land and
sea?

ANSWER: This command applieth to distances by sea as well as by land,
whether it is an hour by steamship or by rail; the intention is the hour's
time, whatever the means of transport. The sooner the burial taketh place,
however, the more fitting and acceptable will it be.

("The Kitáb-i-Aqdas,
The Most Holy Book, Bahá'u'lláh", Haifa: Bahá'í
World Centre, 1992, pp. 111-112)3. In
brief, the Bahá'í law for the burial of the dead states that
it is forbidden to carry the body for more than one hour's journey from
the place of death; that the body should be wrapped in a shroud of silk
or cotton, and on its finger should be placed a ring bearing the inscription
"I came forth from God, and return unto Him, detached from all save Him,
holding fast to His Name, the Merciful, the Compassionate"; and that the
coffin should be of crystal, stone or hard fine wood. A specific Prayer
for the Dead (see note 10) is ordained, to be said before interment. As
affirmed by `Abdu'l-Bahá and the Guardian, this law precludes cremation
of the dead. The formal prayer and the ring are meant to be used for those
who have attained the age of maturity, i.e. 15 years of age (Q and A 70)
("The Kitáb-i-Aqdas,
The Most Holy Book, Bahá'u'lláh", Haifa: Bahá'í
World Centre, 1992, p. 229)4. The
Prayer for the Dead (see Some Texts Supplementary to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas)
is the only Bahá'í obligatory prayer which is to be recited
in congregation; it is to be recited by one believer while all present
stand in silence (see note 19). Bahá'u'lláh has clarified
that the Prayer for the Dead is required only when the deceased is an adult
(Q and A 70), that the recital should precede the interment of the deceased,
and that there is no requirement to face the Qiblih when saying this prayer
(Q and A 85).
("The Kitáb-i-Aqdas,
The Most Holy Book, Bahá'u'lláh", Haifa: Bahá'í
World Centre, 1992, pp. 169-170)

II.

Extracts from
Letters Written on behalf of the Guardian:

5. Regarding
the Bahá'í funeral service: it is extremely simple, as it
consists only of a congregational prayer to be read before burial. This
prayer will be made available to the friends when the "Aqdas" is translated
and published. In the meantime your National Spiritual Assembly should
take great care lest any uniform procedure or ritual in this matter be
adopted or imposed upon the friends. The danger in this, as in some other
cases regarding Bahá'í worship, is that a definite system
of rigid rituals and practices be developed among the believers. The utmost
simplicity and flexibility should be observed, and a selection from the
Bahá'í Sacred Writings would serve the purpose at the present
time, provided this selection is not rigidly and uniformly adopted on all
such occasions.
(From a letter
dated 10 January 1936 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National
Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada) [See also Directives from the Guardianno. 85]6. Both
the Bahá'í marriage service and the Bahá'í
funeral service are extremely simple in character, and you must have certainly
read in the "Bahá'í News" the explanation given by the Guardian
on these two points. As already stated all forms of rigidity and uniformity
in such matters should be avoided by the believers. What is of vital importance
is to strictly observe the laws and directions specifically revealed by
Bahá'u'lláh. These will be gradually brought to the attention
of the friends and explained to them by the Guardian. In the mean time
great care should be taken to prevent the introduction of unnecessary details
and additions of a man-made nature to the body of the Teachings.
(From a letter
dated 19 May 1936 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual
believer)7. There
is no objection whatsoever to non-Bahá'ís being present when
the long prayer for the dead is read, as long as they respect our manner
of reading it by rising and standing as the Bahá'ís do on
this occasion. Nor, indeed, is there any objection to non-Bahá'ís
being present during the reading of any Bahá'í prayer for
the departed. In reporting Bahá'í marriages it is much better
to mention that the ceremony was performed by the Assembly, as this is
the proper thing to do, and an individual only acts for the Assembly on
this occasion. As a funeral is not a legal ceremony more latitude can be
allowed, especially as the family of the deceased may want some particular
Bahá'í friend to officiate.·Mr. and Mrs....are naturally
quite free to be buried in their own plot in the Cemetery, if that is what
they desire.

An official Bahá'í funeral service should only be given
for a believer, but there is no objection to the reading of Bahá'í
prayers, or indeed to a Bahá'í conducting the funeral service
of a non-Bahá'í, if this has been requested.

(From a letter
dated 20 July 1946 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National
Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada) [Also quoted in part in Directives from the Guardian, section 858. The
body may be conveyed by any means to a distance that can be covered in
one hour's journey.
(From a letter
dated 5 August 1949 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual
believer)9. The
Guardian thinks the ideal thing would be for the believers to have a Bahá'í
Cemetery....
(From a letter
dated 5 September 1950written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual
believer)10. Regarding
the questions which you ask, concerning Bahá'í burials, etc.
At the present time, the Guardian is not stressing these matters, as their
establishment might divert attention from the supreme tasks we have before
us. However, the answers are as follows: Under the Bahá'í
teachings it seems clear that the body is not to be embalmed. The burial
should take place within an hour's travel time from the place of death.
The preparation for the body for burial is a careful washing, and placing
in a shroud of white cloth, silk preferably. There is nothing in the teachings
with regard to turning the body over to Scientific Institutions for scientific
research, and therefore the individual may do as he wishes, until such
a time as the Universal House of Justice may legislate on this matter,
if they ever do. The practice in the Orient is to bury the person within
24 hours of the time of death, sometimes even sooner, although there is
no provision in the teachings as to the time limit.
(From a letter
dated 2 April 1955 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual
believer)11. There
is nothing in the Teachings against leaving our bodies to medical science.
The only thing we should stipulate is that we do not wish to be cremated,
as it is against our Bahá'í Laws.

As many people make arrangements to leave their bodies to medical
science for investigation, he suggests that you inquire, either through
some lawyer friend or through some hospital, how you could do this, and
then make the necessary provision in your Will, stipulating that you wish
your body to be of service to mankind in death, and that, being a Bahá'í,
you request that your remains not be cremated and not be taken more than
an hour's journey from the place you die. The spirit has no more connection
with the body after it departs, but, as the body was once the temple of
the spirit, we Bahá'ís are taught that it must be treated
with respect.

(From a letter
dated 22 March 1957 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual
believer) [Also quoted in Directives from the Guardian, section 126]

III.

Extracts from
Letters written on behalf of

the Universal
House of Justice:

12. For
the burial of the dead the only requirements now binding in the West are
to bury the body (not to cremate it), not to carry it more than a distance
of one hour's journey from the place of death, and to say the Prayer for
the Dead if the deceased is a believer over the age of 15.
(From a letter
dated 9 June 1974 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to
the National Spiritual Assembly of Iceland)13. You
have asked whether it is permissible for the friends to chant a prayer
collectively. There is a difference between chanting a prayer collectively
and congregational prayer. The latter is a formal prayer usually led by
an individual using a prescribed ritual. Congregational prayer in this
form is forbidden in the Faith except in the case of the Prayer for the
Dead. While reciting prayers in unison and spontaneously joining in the
recitation of the Words of God is not forbidden, the friends should bear
in mind the advice of the beloved Guardian on this subject when he stated
that: "·although the friends are thus left free to follow their own inclination,
.... they should take the utmost care that any manner they practice should
not acquire too rigid a character, and thus develop into an institution.
This is a point which the friends should always bear in mind, lest they
deviate from the clear path indicated in the Teachings."
(From a letter
dated 6 February 1975 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice
to an individual believer)14. The
Universal House of Justice advises that the place of death may be taken
to be the city or town in which the believer passes away, and therefore
the hour's journey may be calculated from the city limits to the place
of burial. However, it should be borne in mind that the spirit of Bahá'u'lláh's
law is to be buried near where one dies.

At the present time there are no definite regulations for preparing
Bahá'í cemeteries. However, in a Tablet of the Master's,
He emphasizes the need for the cemetery to have a beautiful outward appearance
and states that the graves should not be joined together but that each
one should have a flower bed around its four sides. He also indicates that
it would be pleasing if a pool were located in the center of the cemetery
and beautiful trees were planted around it as well as around the cemetery
itself.

(From a letter
dated 20 February 1978 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice
to the National Spiritual Assembly of Brazil)15. The
Prayer for the Dead should be recited at the funeral if the deceased is
15 years old or more. If there is no one at the funeral able to read, it
is sufficient to say only that part of the Prayer which requires the repetition
nineteen times of each of six short verses.

The body must be placed in the grave in such a position that the
feet point towards `Akká (the Qiblih).

(From a statement
prepared by a National Spiritual Assembly in Africa and approved by the
Universal House of Justice on 14 June 1982)

IV. Endnotes

A newer translation
of this passage has been substituted for the translation originally included.